Ganja White Night Premiere Zeds Dead Collaboration, “Samurai”

On February 5th, Ganja White Night (Benjamin “Bamby” Bayeul and Charlie “Erwan” Dodson) release The Origins LP, featuring collaborations with Caspa, Boogie T, Dirt Monkey, and Zeds Dead. The Zeds Dead collaboration, “Samurai” premiered January 30th on Billboard, which described it as”one of the most beautiful and alluring electronic dance tracks we’ve heard in a while.” The album, released on their own label, Subcarbon Records, is accompanied by a narrative video series by renowned graffiti artist Ebo, who will join them on select dates of a new US tour featuring Subcarbon label mates. Even though each concert on the tour will open with a B2B DJ set from the roster, GWN’s performance features live instrumentation, editing, remixing and improvisation more like a band playing only original material.

Inspired by composers like Hans
Zimmer, Ganja White Night (aka the Wobble Brothers) create cinematic bass music that incorporates reggae, dub, hip-hop, and drum and bass with influences from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. “We have some inspirations that never change,” they say. “We’ve always been fans of ethnic sounds and ethnic voices, long intros, harmonies.” On The Origins this includes guest vocals from singer Simona Brezanova.

From languid introductions to intense party jams and downtempo grooves, the twelve tracks tell the story of Mr. Wobble, a superhero who creates music and the world he inhabits. Of the shifts in tone and tempo, the duo says, “Back in the day contrast was important, having a phrase answered by another
one, it’s a discussion between two songs or grooves.”

They approach collaborations in the same poetic spirit. Teaming up with Caspa, in particular, was the fulfillment of an actual dream. After meeting at a show in Minneapolis in 2016 and beginning to work on a track via Skype, Ben relayed a story to Caspa. “At one point I said, ‘I have to tell you something, Gary. Ten years ago you came to Belgium and played a show in a small room…’ I was so close to the DJs I could almost touch them. I have this picture of him pointing at me. I showed him this picture and told him, I knew this would happen
in a dream.’”

The collaboration with Zeds Dead, which came down to the wire and almost didn’t happen, turned out to be one of the most surprising tracks either act has recorded. Billboard raved: “A striking piano intro slowly opens the door toward a sonic landscape rich with exotic textures. Yes, this tune has bass, but it’s delivered in a subtle, evolutionary way that speaks to a strong sense of musicality and directive. Honestly, if this is what Zeds Dead and Ganja White Night are capable of together, they should have combined
forces years ago.”

Aside from telling the story of Mr. Wobble, another reason for the album’s title refers to its similarity to their debut. “We didn’t care about making ‘easy to mix’ tracks,” they say. “We did that again for this album. We thought some tracks need a universe. If it takes a two-minute intro to make the drop worth it, that’s what we do.” They also didn’t rush the album, which they began working on in the fall of 2016. “We try to release an album every year since we started in 2010. 2017 is the first year we didn’t do that because we were touring too much to make it happen on time,” they say.

Ganja White Night formed in Brussels and with support from an ardent community for a string of wall-rattling hits, the duo have become international sensations, a phenomenon sure to continue once The Origins drops. “I’m not the least bit hesitant to say that this new album is going to be the one that we’re the most happy about to date,” Ben promises.